Chicago man arrested for jamming cellphone calls on train

Dennis Nicholl, 63, was arrested in Chicago after using a cellphone jammer to block train passengers' signals on a local train, according to police. Photo by LDprod/Shutterstock

CHICAGO, March 10 (UPI) -- A Chicago man was arrested using a signal jamming device to block passengers' cellphone signals while traveling on a local train, according to police.

Dennis Nicholl, 63, was identified via an anonymous 911 call after passengers complained about having their signals blocked on a Red Line train.

Nicholl's lawyer Charles Lauer told the Chicago Tribune that he was simply seeking peace and quiet on his train commute.

"He's disturbed by people talking around him," he said. "He might have been selfish in thinking about himself, but he didn't have any malicious intent."

Witnesses had shared photos of Nicholl and his device, a black box with five antennae, months prior to his arrest on Tuesday.

Chicago police worked in conjunction with the FCC and the CTA to track down Nicholl, following him onto a Red Line train in Loyola.

He was arrested after the train stopped, when he allegedly used the device to block the call of an undercover officer. His bail was set at $10,000 by a judge who referred to him as "the cellphone police."

Nicholl pleaded guilty to a charge of cellphone jamming in 2009, which saw his equipment confiscated and destroyed.